83R2441 JXC-D
By: Johnson H.B. No. 2616
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality to establish uniform restrictions on the use of water
during a drought.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.1272, Water Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(f) The commission shall by rule:
(1) establish uniform stages of drought response,
including measures to be implemented during each stage; and
(2) designate the types of entities that must
incorporate the drought response stages in their drought
contingency plans.
(g) A wholesale or retail public water supplier or
irrigation district that the commission requires by rule to
incorporate drought response stages in its drought contingency plan
shall establish criteria for the initiation and termination of a
drought response stage in the service area of the supplier or
district.
(h) A wholesale or retail public water supplier or
irrigation district may not adopt drought response stages other
than the stages established by commission rule.
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2014, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules to implement
Section 11.1272, Water Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.